soccer

This week on KBIA's "Talking Politics," Harvest Public Media's Poncie Rutsch tells us how one town in northeastern Colorado is using the sport of soccer to bring people of different backgrounds together.

Arrest and search warrants have been executed against senior FIFA officials and several executives for what the Justice Department says was a corrupt scheme that gleaned "well over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks" over the course of 24 years.

The department announced that it has indicted 14 people from the U.S. and South America — including nine senior officials with FIFA, soccer's international governing body. Seven of the FIFA officials were arrested in Switzerland early Wednesday.

With ratings for Sunday's U.S.A-Portugal game tipping in at just more than 24 million television viewers, it's probably safe to say World Cup fever has swept the nation. ESPN reports more than 18 million tuned in to its main, English-language broadcast -- an audience bigger than single games of both the World Series and the NBA finals.

This week, our focus turns to Brazil. The country is set to be in the international spotlight this summer as the World Cup comes to Brazil. But not everyone in the country is pleased with what else comes with the responsibilities of putting on one of the world's largest sporting events. Protests took place last summer during a World Cup warm-up tournament, with demonstrators expressing anger over the amount of money being spent to bring the games to Brazil.